Qld watchdog probes land-clearing approval

A decision to allow a mining company to bulldoze a patch of bushland it had already flattened has been referred to Queensland's corruption watchdog.

The Department of Mines and Natural Resources has asked the Crime and Corruption Commission to investigate a retroactive land clearing approval given to Goondicum Resources by former Liberal National Party (LNP) government.

Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham says he was tipped-off about the decision by locals.

"The director-general of my department has since referred the matter to the Crime and Corruption Commission," he told AAP.

Goondicum Resources's parent company, Melior Resources, admits bulldozing the bush to lay a 900-metre road in central Queensland in November last year without approval.

"We are working with all departments to get a vegetation clearance in retrospect," Melior CEO Mark McCauley told ABC at the time.